Aftermath
by Keren Olivero
Summary: The conclusion of my Steadfast Hearts novel. Zagato and Emeraude have a wedding ball and the magic knights are invited to attend before they return to their own world. The prequel, Steadfast Hearts is also up. Read it first or you will be confused.


A/N: Magic Knight Rayearth and its characters are owned by CLAMP, not me. Dinah is the only character that belongs to me. This fic is a sequel to my previous fanfic, "Steadfast Hearts." Rated PG. Helpful suggestions are welcome. Flames are not.

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Hikaru was in her room, preparing for the wedding ball of Zagato and Princess Emeraude. She was bombarded by a myriad of emotions: pride, happiness, and a bit sad. She was proud of herself for not doing what she would regret later. She had a feeling if she had assassinated Zagato rather than try to understand him, she would have had a difficult time forgiving herself. She would not have known that there was a friend beneath his rash and ruthless exterior. She especially couldn't find enough words to describe how glad she was that Dinah persuaded Princess Emeraude not to fulfill the legend of the Magic Knights. And due to the fact that the people of Cephiro instilled their faith in her and the other Magic Knights, the young girls from another world were able to defeat the monsters that roamed rampantly through Cephiro. The land was now restored to its tranquil state. That meant that the Magic Knights had completed their task. Hikaru should be thrilled about that, right? But she wasn't. Not really. She realized that she would miss the people she made friends with. Caldina, Ascot, Ferio, Lafarga, Dinah, Zagato and of course, Princess Emeraude. Saying goodbye was not going to be easy, and she wasn't too keen on the idea. She wondered how Umi and Fuu felt about this.

' Oh well,' thought Hikaru. ' All I can do is enjoy my time left in Cephiro. Who knows, perhaps we can return again soon.' Soon, she was ready, and decided to see how Umi and Fuu were coming along. Just as she was about to, she heard a knock on the door.

"Miss Hikaru?"

"Fuu, is that you?" Hikaru asked, "come on in."

Fuu opened the door, and walked in with Umi.

"Hey, guys," greeted Hikaru. She noticed that Umi was staring at her. She was worried. Maybe something was wrong.

"What is it? Do I have something stuck in my teeth? Is something wrong with my dress?"

Umi shook her head. "No. It's just...you look so different with your hair unbraided. It looks great!"

Hikaru was amazed to hear that. Wearing her hair loose was something she very seldomly did, for she never thought it suited her very well.

"Do you really think so?" she asked.

"Yes!" interjected Umi. Fuu agreed with her.

"You really do look lovely, Miss Hikaru," she said.

Hikaru wasn't so sure about that. But if her 2 best friends thought so, who was she to object?

"Thanks," she said.

"Let's go or we'll be late," said Umi, giving Hikaru a look.

"Oh. Right," said Hikaru. She gave herself a final look over, and went to the banquet hall with Umi and Fuu. Sure enough, everyone was waiting for them.

*******

"Well, well, the little missies finally showed up. I gotta say, y'all are looking mighty stunning," said Caldina.

The 3 girls' face flushed at that, Hikaru's face looking the reddest.

"So do you, Miss Caldina," replied Fuu, eyeing Caldina in her indigo coloured dress. It was quite stylish and showed off her tan nicely.

"Glad you think so, little missy," replied Caldina. She hoped that Lafarga would think so as well. Ever since the war ended, she had harboured feelings of affection for him. That led her to remain in Cephiro, rather than return to Chizeta like she planned to.

"Well, we're going to get something to eat now. See ya, Caldina," said Umi. She and the other girls walked over to the food table. They were surprised by what they saw. A luxurious buffet was laid out.

"Oh wow! Blueberry cheesecake, my favourite!" gasped Hikaru.

Umi was impressed, too. "I don't know who made these dishes, but whoever it was did an excellent job," said Umi, putting a slice of strawberry shortcake onto her plate. The girls dished a bit more food onto their plates, and sat down.

Umi took a taste of the cake. She had to admit that it was pretty tasty, considering that she was not fond of sweets. In fact, she was feeling a bit jealous because Cephiro's version of the cake put to shame the cakes she made at home.

Fuu nibbled on a piece of cherry pie.

"This pie is absolutely scrumptious," she told Umi and Fuu.

"I'll bet," replied Hikaru. She thoroughly enjoyed Cephiro's version of the blueberry cheesecake.

*******

Just then, Zagato and Princess Emeraude stepped onto the dance floor. Zagato took Princess Emeraude by the hand. His touch still made Princess Emeraude's heart beat rapidly and gave her butterflies in her stomach though it had been quite some time since their love was in full bloom.

"May I have this dance?" Zagato asked his beloved princess.

"Of course," answered Princess Emeraude.

Beautiful music started playing, and Zagato and Princess Emeraude proceeded to waltz around the dance floor. Princess Emeraude enjoyed every minute of it. She never thought that this moment could ever be real, being in the arms of the man she loved. She felt that it was only possible in death, due to her duty as the pillar of Cephiro. But now that the pillar system was gone, she knew that she had nothing to worry about. As much as Emeraude loved her country, she was grateful for the freedom she now possessed.

*******

Hikaru, Umi and Fuu were done eating. Their eyes were now on Zagato and Princess Emeraude.

"My, my, what splendid dancers they are!" exclaimed Fuu.

Umi and Hikaru agreed that they were, especially compared to their dancing skills. Actually, Umi was not such a terrible dancer, but Hikaru's skills had yet to be desired. She usually stayed away from the dance floor, for fear of stepping on her partner's feet. After awhile, the 3 girls grew bored.

"I'm going to see what Dinah is up to," Hikaru decided. She left the table and went looking for Dinah. Umi and Fuu decided to look for Presea and Ferio.

Hikaru found Dinah speaking to a man she had never seen before. This man had short black hair and purple eyes. When she heard his voice, she was shocked. He sounded exactly like Zagato.

' What does this mean?' she wondered. 'Is he related to Zagato in some way? Could he be the younger brother Zagato spoke of recently?'

Hikaru wanted to become acquainted with him, but she didn't want to interrupt him while he was speaking to Dinah.

' I guess meeting him will have to wait...not that there's much time left,' thought Hikaru.

Hikaru left to get something to drink. On her way to the refreshment table, she bumped into someone tall.

' Oh boy,' she thought. She glanced up to see who it was. It was Zagato! Hikaru was mortified, and worried, too. She was sure that he would call her a clumsy oaf. She looked soooo sheepish.

" Oops, I'm sorry...I'm so clumsy," she said, preparing herself for the ridicule that was sure to follow. But Zagato surprised her.

"It's all right," Zagato reassured her. His next question surprised her even more. "Would you care to dance?"

Hikaru wasn't sure how to answer at first. She was horrible at dancing, and she was worried about what Princess Emeraude would think. Yet she couldn't say no. She mentally scolded herself for being such a worrywart. She and Zagato would only be dancing as friends, and besides, Princess Emeraude didn't seem like the jealous type. Hikaru asked Princess Emeraude, just to make sure it would be all right.

"Go ahead," said the princess.

"Sure," Hikaru answered Zagato.

The newly wedded high priest led Hikaru onto the dance floor. The music started to play again, and Zagato and Hikaru proceeded to dance. Luckily, Hikaru didn't screw up like she feared she would. In fact, she was doing much better than she thought she would. And although she was dancing with someone who was at least a foot and a half taller than she was, it didn't feel all that eccentric at all.

*******

Soon, the wedding ball was over, and it was time for the Magic Knights to return back to their world. But first, they would have to say goodbye. Hikaru stepped forward.

" Zagato, thanks again for allowing us to stay in the castle, " she said, " and I am so glad that I got a chance to know the real you."

"Same here," said Fuu and Umi in unison.

"Likewise," replied Zagato.

"Magic Knights...you have taught me that destinies can be altered and saved Cephiro...thank you," said Princess Emeraude.

"It was our pleasure," replied Hikaru.

"Farewell, Legendary Magic Knights. Please return again someday," said Princess Emeraude. She emitted a beam of light from her body. The girls were engulfed in it, and with that, they were back at Tokyo Tower.

*******

"It wasn't a dream, it wasn't a dream," said Hikaru. At this point, she was feeling pretty choked up. She hugged her 2 best friends.

"I hope we can return to Cephiro someday...to visit our friends," said Hikaru, thinking of Princess Emeraude and Zagato.

"Ditto," said Umi.

"Same here," agreed Fuu. She especially wanted to see Ferio again.

END


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